Super Scribblenauts fixes problems of original

Super Scribblenauts is the game that Scribblenauts should have been. Better …

There are puzzles in Super Scribblenauts where you see a row of different items and have to generate and then place an item between them, an item that has shared characteristics. So, for instance, I had a puzzle showing a leech, a vampire, a helicopter, and a bird. At first, I tried to think of something that sucked blood and could fly... a mosquito? The game accepted it, and the level was beaten. To master the level, however, I had to find three different solutions.

Another puzzle had buildings and animals. I typed "wooden bear" and the game promptly generated the beast and I beat the level. I added squirt guns and a beach ball to a level to get a party started. I used a hang glider to help a man jump off a cliff safely. I'm not giving anything away; these are simple answers. You can come up with many, many more. Super Scribblenauts is a game that took the problems of the original and made them go away. That's a very good thing.

Super Scribblenauts

The fixes

In Super Scribblenauts, each level has some problem to solve. To solve it, you simply type in the name of objects you'd like to spawn. Ask for a typewriter, and you get one. A squid can be yours. So can a jetpack. The game's vocabulary is vast, so be sure to spend some time trying to think of different and original ways to do things. So far, this sounds like the first game, however. How does the sequel differ?

The biggest improvement is in moving Maxwell, the game's hero, as you can now use the d-pad to put him where you want him. This is a huge advantage over the frustrating touch-based movement scheme from the first game, and it goes a long way to generate some goodwill from the player. Maxwell now runs and jumps like he's in a standard platforming game, and the experience is better for it.

Object interactions are also better; the physics are improved, and tethering one object to another is no longer nearly as touchy as it was in the first game. Things just seem to work, and you don't feel like you're constantly fighting the controls and objects. There are still a few problems, as I spawned some stairs that I couldn't flip around, but overall everything feels better. The developers listened to the feedback from the first game and acted on it. Well done.

The additions

The biggest change to the game is the use of adjectives. You could spawn a car in the first game, but now you can spawn a red car. I typed in "angry doctor" and the character spawned, scowling, and started to slap the other people on the screen. Why have a bear when you can have a wooden bear? Many levels incorporate adjectives, and you'll need to be specific to beat some of the levels.

When you spawn an item and try to solve a level with multiple steps, the game gives you a thumbs up or thumbs down to let you know if you're on the right path or not. It's a gentle nudge in the right direction, and since levels go from the insultingly easy to the utterly inscrutable... it can be needed.

The game also features a tiered hint system that works in real time. If you want all the hints right now, you need to pay using the in-game currency. The longer you work on the puzzle, the cheaper the hints become. It's a friendly system that you don't have to use, but it can take the edge off the frustration on certain levels.

The problems

There are still moments where you won't agree with the game's solutions (or where the game won't agree with yours), although with a little bit of thinking you can get around them. I'm still skeptical that fireworks wouldn't wake a sleeping astronaut, but that playing a violin in another room would.

In another level, you have to provide people with vehicles that match their clothing. The bride was given a white limousine, the goth girl had a black hearse to drive away, and I gave the hippie a rainbow van, because "paisley" isn't an option that the game recognizes. Then a police officer shows up. I type in "police car," but that doesn't work. "Paddy wagon"? The game recognizes it, but it doesn't work. The game only allowed me to win by giving the officer a blue car. That seems... a little off.

Being able to add adjectives to objects is a huge addition to the experience, and it really lets your mind soar when you try to solve problems, but sometimes it seems to confuse the game; solutions that seem perfectly valid don't seem to register. You can buy clues to each of the puzzles, but you get more points by using trickier words and creative solutions. If it seems like it should work, it most likely will, but it can be frustrating when the system breaks down.

The swift brown fox

The addition of adjectives, better level design, and the d-pad movement make this the game the original Scribblenauts should have been. While some of the puzzles may not support solutions you feel are fair, many of them will stretch your brain and reward experimentation to find the game's limits.

The first game was a great concept with many near-fatal flaws. This time, it's much easier to recommend.